Want to learn japanese, but in the middle of nowhere...

Lapsus, You do know that the Japanese written languages consists of over 3,000 kangi, 26 katakana, and 26 hirogana words and letters don't you? I don't know what you have available in language schools in Ontario, but I wish you luck. You've got a long ways to go. 5 words? You haven't even begun to start, but don't forget that there are different dialects of Japanese.

Actually, Japanese is much easier than either English or French, the downside, of course, being all the kanji and the new grammatical concepts.

As with all languages, learning it does take a lot of intensive study, and the ideal place to learn it would be in a university or similar.

I guess the best advice I can give you is to try Google.

I know...


I know that written Japanese is very complicated, and that 5 words is not much, (Hey, I gotta start somewhere! :wink: )

If I start now (15 years old,) I might[/u] have a good chance of actually being able to speak, read, and write it!

If you don't have any Japanese schools around you I'd recommend buying a good instructional book or software package, such as the ones offered by Berlitz. I don't have much experience with those kinds of products though.

Here's the best Japanese-English Dictionary website: WWWJDIC Japanese-English Dictionary Server

Lapsus, I'm really not trying to discourage you; just be prepared for the reality. Trying to learn a language in your immediate locale may be a bit difficult. As Rounin says, probably the best place is at university, but many places in California has language schools that teaches different languages including Japanese. The best way to learn any language is te be completely emersed in it - like living in the country. Are you aware that many countries have student exchange programs? You might want to look into it. Best of luck to you. c.i.

Learning a language which is half a globe away from your own is the best thing you can do on earth!
I'm learning Japanese, too (my mother tongue is German). I have nearly NONE oral conversation (my conversation partner is now back in Japan but he will come again), but I continue.

Search for e-mail partners who wanna improve their English (or whatever your mother tongue might be). If you find someone who shares your interests and writes you continuously, you can learn a lot.
There is a penpal forum at www.japan-guide.com but I'm sure there are more out there (if you find one, please tell me!!).

Ganbatte!^^ (Try your best -> Good luck)

Helen

take away the comma and the link works :wink: